The Yogi Rider
“But why do you need so many people?”
At my question, everyone’s laughter died down.
It was Yoo Hyeyeon who answered.
“That’s because of the nature of this Event Zone. You see those five people? One is the politician hosting the auction, and the others are the wealthy buyers who bought the relics... but no matter which car we ambush, only the exact same type of relic drops.”
Yoo Hyeyeon pulled several painted scrolls from beneath the table.
Dae-nyang added, “Since four people bought them, there should be four different types of winning bids. Yet, no matter who we attack, only these types of scrolls appear. The paintings on them differ slightly, but... after countless repetitions, we happened to get Yeolchan’s help to ambush two locations simultaneously. Only then did a completely different type of relic drop.”
Kang Yeolchan raised his right hand.
He was wearing a jade ring on his middle finger.
“It’s a ring imbued with the power of internal heat! I can move around in fire without feeling a thing!”
“So we tried ambushing two places at once a few more times, but only scrolls kept dropping after that. Then, with the Guild Leader’s help, the three of us ambushed three separate targets simultaneously, and we finally got a new relic.”
“Mine wasn’t anything special. It was a bronze mirror, apparently with the ability to see ghosts...”
Yoo Hyeyeon narrowed her eyes and glared at a box in the corner of the room.
It was probably inside there.
“That’s when we realized. Every time we ambush targets simultaneously, a new relic drops.”
“That’s why we called you today, Joohyuk. Well? Will you accept the mission?”
Ah.
This wasn’t a standard mission request.
It was a gathering disguised as a mission request, designed specifically to give me an item.
There was no real need to call me. For a massive guild like Sprout, there were plenty of players far stronger than me.
Yet, they had gone out of their way to summon me, even using the word ‘command,’ just to hand over whatever item dropped this time.
“Of course I accept. Thank you.”
“Great. Then let’s discuss the strategy right away. But first... shall we grab a bite to eat?”
Yoo Hyeyeon pulled out her phone and tapped the screen.
A moment later, an employee from the first floor came up carrying drinks.
“Is that an item that summons beverages?”
“Huh? No, it’s a delivery app.”
After the meeting, I followed Yoo Hyeyeon to a shopping district a short distance away.
Cars were constantly rushing past Chungmuro Station, but after walking just a few blocks, we reached a quiet, empty stretch of road.
“It’s a dead space due to poor urban planning. Thanks to that, there’s barely any foot traffic. Follow me.”
Yoo Hyeyeon entered a shop at the end of the road.
Inside, and spilling out onto the street, was a massive pile of motorcycles.
“Joohyuk, over here.”
Yoo Hyeyeon pointed to one of them.
It was a massive motorcycle with a green base and red flames painted across it.
Its giant muffler soared high into the sky.
“What is this?”
“It’s called the Green Goblin. Cool, right? From now on, you’ll have to travel to plenty of places where the subway doesn’t run, just like today. Use it then.”
Yoo Hyeyeon smiled as she answered.
“Give it a try.”
Following her words, I climbed onto the motorcycle—the one named the Green Goblin.
“Mmh...!”
It was heavy.
Without realizing it, I had to activate the power of Strong Arm sealed in my earring just to keep my balance.
For a goblin, it was an incredibly heavy, overly extravagant, and colossal motorcycle.
“Stunning. I knew my eyes didn’t deceive me.”
This aggressive, heavy design was clearly to Yoo Hyeyeon’s taste.
“Want to take it for a spin?”
I started the engine and twisted the throttle with my right hand.
Vroooooooooom!
Crash!
The motorcycle carrying me popped a massive wheelie, shot forward, and immediately wiped out in the middle of the road.
“Joohyuk!”
A panicked Yoo Hyeyeon rushed over.
Kneeling in front of me, she asked, “Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened? Was there something wrong with the bike?”
I answered honestly.
“I’ve never ridden a motorcycle before...”
“Pardon?”
It couldn't be helped.
I became an orphan at the age of ten.
Since then, I had spent my entire life in the middle of a war.
I had learned to drive a car out of necessity, but a motorcycle? Why would I ever need to ride one? I hadn’t even learned how to ride a bicycle.
Mister, have you seriously never even ridden a bicycle?
“By the time I was at the age to learn, my parents were already gone, and I was in the middle of a war zone...”
Oof, did you just guilt-trip me?
“...Anyway, let’s start by practicing on a smaller one. You have great reflexes, so you’ll pick it up in no time.”
I spent nearly an hour repeatedly falling over as I practiced riding.
But in the end, I couldn’t master the Green Goblin.
Instead, Yoo Hyeyeon handed me the kind of scooter most commonly seen on the streets.
“Take this too.”
Before we set off, Yoo Hyeyeon handed me a vest and a helmet.
“Make sure you always wear the helmet when you ride. If you’re unlucky enough to get caught in a checkpoint and they run your ID, the AI will show up almost immediately. Wear the vest too, and attach this to the back of the bike.”
The vest was made of nylon and covered in pockets. A large, mint-colored box was attached to the back of the scooter.
“What is this...? Yogi Riders...?”
“If you ride around with this, it’s basically an absolute free pass in this world. Even if you run a red light, no one will suspect you. Now, off you go! I need to head to my assigned sector too.”
As Yoo Hyeyeon took off her trench coat, a skin-tight black bodysuit was revealed underneath.
It was a riding suit equipped with safety gear at her elbows, knees, and various other parts of her body.
She lightly mounted a motorcycle that looked twice the size of mine and revved the throttle, letting out a roaring boom.
“Well then! Text me when you arrive!”
Vrooooom!
Yoo Hyeyeon sped off, popping a wheelie and kicking up sparks.
I started my scooter and put on the helmet.
Yoo Hyeyeon’s words were true.
Despite knowing absolutely nothing about traffic laws, I managed to travel from Seoul to Seonchon-ri, Seorak-myeon, Gapyeong-gun without a single hitch.
I felt tense whenever I passed traffic police, but they actually turned their heads and ignored me.
I parked my scooter on a designated mountain path and waited.
Before I knew it, the night had grown deep.
Dae-nyang: The target has departed.
Dae-nyang: Everyone, please get ready.
Dae-nyang: Once the target enters their home or villa, the mission ends. We must ambush the car and seize the relic before then.
I looked up and stared at the magnificent mansion situated far above my current position.
They say it's an entrepreneur's villa. In reality, it's used as a warehouse to store artwork.
“So if we raid that place, relics will pour out.”
Hold your horses. Didn't you hear Uncle Dae-nyang? There are security guards and CCTVs all over the villa, so if anything goes wrong, the police will be dispatched immediately.
In the corner of my vision, the security guards and CCTVs installed throughout the villa came into view.
A drone, which had been deployed at some point, was looking down at the villa and us from high above.
“A pity.”
But how are you going to stop the car? If you block the road with a scooter, it'll just make them suspicious.
The road leading to the villa was a narrow, single-lane path.
I could block it with the scooter, but acting so suspiciously might just prompt them to run me over.
“I’m counting on you.”
o_o Huh?
“I don’t think this is a very good idea.”
“No, there’s no better way than this.”
A young girl with short blonde hair was crouching in the middle of the road.
CC looked at me, hidden behind a tree, with a face that looked ready to cry.
“Couldn’t you do it, Mister? You and I are basically the same height anyway.”
“Imagine a decrepit, ugly dwarf crouching in the middle of a mountain road, looking like a child. If it were me, I’d run him over and flee.”
“A young girl sitting alone in the middle of the mountains is plenty terrifying too!”
“It would be scary if you had black hair, but you’re blonde. And this is Korea. The bizarre combination actually makes it feel more realistic. They’ll probably think you’re a lost foreigner who came to visit a nearby villa.”
“Ugh, I’m really not cut out for physical labor...”
CC grumbled, her eyes welling with tears.
But that only lasted a moment. Soon, she became distracted by a trail of ants crossing the road.
“Mister, look at this. They’re carrying an earthworm.”
“Don't lose focus. You’re keeping watch, right?”
I looked up at the drone floating in the sky.
Even without verbal confirmation, the drone had been continuously monitoring the entrance to this road.
And a short while later, a black luxury sedan finally entered the road.
“They’re here.”
Auntie Yoo Hyeyeon said the police won't come. But if we don't neutralize the guards quickly, reinforcements will come from the villa, so we have to hurry.
Hiding in the shadow of the trees, I gripped my dagger.
Concealed in my coat was the Tokarev that CC had summoned.
Screeech...
The sedan came to a halt in front of CC.
The engine remained running.
The horn blared, but CC didn’t budge. Instead, she just stared at the sedan with a terrified expression.
The driver’s side window rolled down, and a man leaned out to shout.
“Hey, kid! Move! This is a road!”
CC didn’t answer. Instead, she merely took a step back as if frightened.
I had thought this back at the shopping mall too, but her acting skills were superb. For an AI, she was far more human than me.
Click.
The passenger door opened, and a man in a black suit approached CC.
“What’s wrong, kid? Why are you playing out here?”
Now.
I dashed out from behind the tree toward the sedan.
The man in the driver’s seat noticed me too late and scrambled to roll up his window, but I was faster.
The dagger leaving my hand plunged straight into the neck of the driver.
“Who’s there?!”
The man in the suit who had been walking toward CC whipped out an expandable baton.
His reaction was fast.
A veteran?
I blocked the swinging baton with my helmet and threw a punch straight at his abdomen.
A punch packed with the power of Strong Arm.
“Cough!”
The man’s body lifted slightly off the ground before crashing back down.
When I pulled my fist back, he slowly collapsed.
His caved-in abdomen was accompanied by a broken left arm, bent at an unnatural angle as if his bones had shattered.
To think he managed to guard in that split second—his skills were definitely the real deal. He just hadn’t anticipated the sheer force of Strong Arm.
I turned toward the sedan.
The driver was unconscious and slumped over, but...
“Huh?”
The windows were rolled up.
The car doors wouldn’t open either.
An elderly man sitting in the back seat spoke in a furious rage.
“I-I knew this would happen! Who sent you?! Was it old man Choi?! I’ve been suspicious ever since that greedy bastard agreed to host the auction so easily.”
The old man seemed to think I was an assassin sent by the politician.
Selling a relic for a massive sum at an auction, then sending a hitman to retrieve it.
The old man had apparently jumped to that conclusion without much hesitation.
“You bastard, just you wait. My villa is right up there...”
The old man pulled out his phone inside the car.
This wasn’t good.
If reinforcements arrived, it would be difficult to handle them alone.
Even if it meant pushing myself, I had to drag him out...
Initiating signal jamming.
“Signal jamming?”
It's a function of the drone. But it means your phone will go dead too, Mister.
“What?! What’s wrong with this! Why is my phone acting up?!”
It didn’t matter. I just had to finish this quickly and contact them later.
I pulled out the Tokarev and aimed it at the front passenger window.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
I fired three consecutive shots, but the glass didn’t shatter.
Instead, fine cracks spiderwebbed in all directions.
“T-This is bulletproof glass... you bastard...!”
This was getting annoying. If that was the case, I’d have to tear it open with the power of Strong Arm...
Mister!
CC’s message filled my vision.
At the same time, a chilling sensation shot down my spine.
Reflexively, I bent my knees and ducked.
Slash.
The top half of the sturdy helmet, which had easily blocked the expandable baton, was cleanly sliced off and fell to the ground.
Whoosh...
Only then did the sharp sound of wind brush past my ears.
“Oh? You dodged that?”
I slowly turned around.
A man wearing glasses and a tracksuit stood there.
If I had seen him anywhere else, I would have thought he was just out for a light jog.
But the object in his hand completely shattered any sense of normalcy.
It was undoubtedly a sword.
His posture, the moonlight reflecting off it, and the subtle disturbance in the wind all insisted a sword was there.
And yet, it was invisible.